Dream Trip to Disaster – Please Help Us Recover after Fire

Hi everyone,

My name is Izzy, and my partner and I are devastated after losing everything when our caravan burned down yesterday. We had spent months planning our dream trip, and only a few days in, disaster struck.

While reversing the van I got out to help direct and suddenly noticed smoke and heard the fire alarm go off. I saw thick smoke pouring out of the vent above the caravan front door.

We quickly got our three pups to safety, unhooked our car, and my partner tried to fight the fire with a fire extinguisher—but it was too late. The smoke was overwhelming and it was too dangerous to be inside the van with no visibility inside the van due to the extent of the fire. We managed to remove the gas bottles before calling 000, but all we could do was watch as everything we owned burned to the ground.

Thankfully, we’re safe, and our dogs are too—that’s what truly matters. But the loss is absolutely devastating—we’re still in shock, struggling to process that everything we owned is just gone in an instant. While our caravan was insured, and we await the insurers response, the policy only cover contents to $1000, and we lost over $25,000 worth of belongings— cameras/drones, electronics, our Starlink, jewellery, all our clothes and shoes, passports, an inflatable boat and outboard motor, fishing gear, surfboard, snorkelling gear, kitchen appliances, all of our pups’ things and sadly many sentimental items.

We spent hours searching through the debris but the only distinguishable personal effects were a burnt passport and a Valentine’s Day photo album/book.

This trip was meant to be a fresh start for us. We recently lost our business due to non-payment by an interstate company. Even after winning a lengthy legal battle, we received nothing because the company had no assets to liquidate. We chose to turn that hardship into something positive by embarking on a trip in our caravan, only for this to happen.

We are hoping to raise funds to help replace some of what was lost. Today, we went to Kmart to purchase some clothes and toiletries as we were literally left with what was on our back. We have booked an Airbnb for a few days to figure out our next steps and while we await advice from the insurance company. Any support—whether donating or sharing—means the world to us.

We’re staying strong and grateful that we and our pups are safe. Thank you so much for any help you can offer.

With love and gratitude,

Izzy, and pups Lucy, Buddy and Axel